Sisters drowned after paddle at national park beauty spot

Two sisters drowned at a national park beauty spot after going for a paddle fully clothed, an inquest has heard.

Hajra Zahid, 29, and her sister Haleema Zahid, 25, were pulled from the water at the Watkin Pools at Eryri National Park, in the Nant Gwynant area of Gwynedd, in June last year.

Speaking at an inquest at Caernarfon Coroner's Court, mountain rescuers said it appeared the two women, who could not swim, fell or slipped and were unable to get out of the water.

Hajra's husband Haessham Minhas described the mother-of-two as a woman who "inspired everyone around her" in a tribute at the hearing.

The inquest heard the two women, who were originally from Pakistan, but lived in Rotherham, travelled to the national park with three male friends who were students with them at the University of Chester.

Both visited the picturesque wild swimming site and its waterfall - made popular by social media - on the early evening of 11 June with the friends.

The group of five split up for privacy and religious reasons as the sisters, who could not swim, headed for a pool upstream on the Afon Cwm Llan river.

The men later called out for the sisters, but got no reply to their shouts and when they reached the pools they noticed their shoes and personal belongings at the side.

They later discovered Hajra floating face down in her red dress.

They managed to pull her from the pool, but were unable to find her sister.

A resident came to help and performed CPR until emergency services arrived.

Members of the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team entered the pool to retrieve Haleema, but both women were pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination confirmed they had both drowned.

Assistant coroner for North West Wales Sarah Riley said it was her view that neither woman had gone for a swim, or had intended to enter deeper water at the pools.

Instead they had intended to have a paddle, and were still dressed when they both somehow ended up in the pool, she said.

She told the inquest it was impossible to establish the exact sequence of events, but ruled out any suspicious circumstances or the involvement of a third party.

Recording a conclusion of accident, Riley offered the sisters' family and friends her condolences.

"It is an extremely tragic case," she said, also urging caution to the public about the dangers of entering such pools.

In tributes read out during the hearing, Minhas added: "She [Hajra] was a determined and ambitious woman who believed in the power of education."

Family friend Raja Azem said Haleema was "always in our prayers".

"She was a loving daughter, sister and aunt."

In a statement read out at the inquests, Hajra's husband Hessham Minhas said she "always placed herself at the centre of family life".

He said: "She was a determined, ambitious woman who believed in the power of education and personal growth, with a dream of building a better future for herself and her family.

"Her memory lives on in the lives she touched and the family she left behind."